• Message from Bishop-elect Anderson
• Anglican Bishops Take First Steps toward New Structure
• Episcopal House of Bishops Meeting
• Joint Statement on House Of Bishops Resolution
• Bishop Steenson (Rio Grande) Resigns

Message from Bishop-elect Anderson

Beloved in Christ,
The story this week revolves around two gatherings of bishops. One meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, was the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops (HOB), and the other group meeting far to the north in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was a new gathering called the Common Cause Council of Bishops, which is an expansion of the Common Cause Partnership.

The Episcopal Church conclave concluded with a seriously failed response to the Dar es Salaam Communique, which was its primary reason for meeting; while the gathering of bishops in Pittsburgh signals a new and stronger coming together of the greater tent of Common Cause Partners. The Episcopal Church HOB, as a body, represents faith gone astray, a church that is phobic about so-called Biblical fundamentalism and yet excels in Canonical fundamentalism.

The HOB tried to say the words that would appease the Primates, while budging not an inch on heterodoxy or homosexual blessings and ordinations. It was of course a task that could not be accomplished, but the usual "fudge" was cooked up for the Archbishop of Canterbury's and the Primates' consumption, if they will have it. It is easy to believe that based on Canterbury's and the Anglican Communion Office's pre-planning, the letter of acceptance of their fudge was written before His Grace ever left England. We said it before and we say it again, it will read like this, "While we note areas of need for continued work by TEC in meeting the full requests of the Communique, we also note the sincerity and hard work and great effort that TEC has expended in trying earnestly to engage those requests, and the progress, although certainly needing further work, that has been accomplished. We feel it would be premature to penalize the Episcopal Church while they struggle internally to meet the Communique requests." What does that mean? "It's all OK, and you are still in the club and can come to Lambeth."

Several links are included below which detail the Dar es Salaam demands and the HOB responses, and you can see the ways that TEC avoided giving the answers required of them or committing to the actions necessary. We applaud the Primates who have already spoken out saying that the Episcopal Church response is deficient and inadequate.  

On the other hand, the meeting in Pittsburgh took the first steps in what many hope will ultimately be the new Anglican province. Those present formed a Federation, subject to ratification by their represented judicatories, beginning a walk that will have many steps. If it emerges as a new Province recognized by a majority of the Primates, it would become a home for many Anglicans who have been searching for the Anglicanism that North America once knew, orthodox and faithful. Additional information will be released in the next few days giving details on what was agreed to and what it does and does not mean. Speaking for the AAC, I would say that this is a concrete, hopeful sign that something incorporating a wider scope of faithful Anglicans and pointing to the awaited Province, is now in a formative season.

In the meantime the different judicatories will be busy with consecrating bishops-elect, organizing work to best meet the mission opportunities, and in the case of some TEC dioceses, bringing needed legislation before their yearly diocesan conventions to change Constitutions and Canons. These changes will require a first reading and passage, followed by a final reading and second passage the following year to become effective. We will cover the news here as it happens.

Blessings and peace in Christ Jesus,

Bishop-elect David C. Anderson
President & CEO of the AAC

Anglican Bishops Take First Steps toward New Structure

Anglican bishops from ten jurisdictions and organizations pledged to take the first steps toward a "new ecclesiastical structure" in North America.  The meeting of the first ever Common Cause Council of Bishops was held in Pittsburgh September 25-28.

The bishops present lead more than 600 Anglican congregations.  They formally organized themselves as a college of bishops which will meet every six months.  They also laid out a timeline for the path ahead, committed to working together at local and regional levels, agreed to deploy clergy interchangeably and announced their intention to, in consultation "with those Primates and Provinces of the Anglican Communion offering recognition under the timeline adopted," call a "founding constitutional convention for an Anglican union," at the earliest possible date agreeable to all of the partners.

"We met deeply aware that we have arrived at a critical moment in the history of mainstream Anglican witness in North America.  God has led us to repentance for past divisions and opened the way for a united path forward.  To him be the glory," said Bishop Robert Duncan, convener of the council.

The full text of the Council's statement is  here.

Episcopal House of Bishops Meeting

The Episcopal Church's House of Bishops (HOB), whose meeting in New Orleans concluded September 25, created a response to the Dar es Salaam Communique which drew strong criticism from many Anglican Communion leaders as well as extensive coverage from secular media outlets. 

Read the full text of the HOB's response here.

The following are links to various statements and news releases on the HOB's response:

Archbishop of Nigeria Rejects Episcopal Response

Archbishop Nzimbi Rejects HOB Response

Episcopal Bishops Reject Anglican Church's Orders (New York Times)

The Anglicans Get Ready to Rumble (Time)

AAC Analysis of HOB Response

Joint Statement on House Of Bishops Resolution
Source: American Anglican Council; Anglican Communion Network; Forward in Faith North America
Date: September 26, 2007

PRESS RELEASE

Joint Statement on the Resolution of the House of Bishops

Three orthodox Anglican groups, the American Anglican Council, the Anglican Communion Network, and Forward in Faith North America, have issued a joint statement on the recently-concluded meeting of the House of Bishops in New Orleans.

The last seven days have been eventful ones for the worldwide Anglican Communion.  The future of our 500 year fellowship has been focused on the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops (HOB). The worldwide Anglican Communion has been looking for clarity, praying for unity, and searching for Christ and His will in our lives.  Unfortunately, the HOB has failed the Communion; their continued ambiguity, questioning of basic Christian beliefs, and rejection of obvious Scriptural teaching has widened the gap between them and biblical Christianity.

The Primates' Dar es Salaam Communique required that the Episcopal Church:

1. End same-sex blessings at all levels.
2. Confirm that no more non-celibate homosexuals will be consecrated bishop.
3. Provide alternative Primatial oversight for those who do not agree with the Episcopal Church's leadership.
4. End all lawsuits against parishes and vestries.

To our disappointment, the House of Bishops (HOB) did not meet the request but offered a carefully crafted response that appears to comply but actually maintains the status quo.

1. The HOB refused to address the widespread practice of same-sex blessings. Instead, they restated their long-standing position.
2. The HOB clarified Resolution B033 as applying to "non-celibate gay(s) and lesbian(s) [among others]"; however, the bishops agree only, for now, to "exercise restraint."
3. The HOB rejected the Primates' plan for pastoral oversight and offered their own inadequate alternative.
4. The HOB ignored the request to end lawsuits against parishes and vestries.  To this day, churches and individuals face litigation funded by The Episcopal Church, and guided by its chancellor.
5. Fully half of the response is concerned with matters not raised by the Communion that nonetheless press forward The Episcopal Church's agenda

We, with others gathered in Pittsburgh for the Common Cause Council of Bishops, are committed to remaining within biblical Christianity even as The Episcopal Church once again has chosen to continue on its own tragic course.   We trust that in the weeks and months ahead God will guide us and the entire Anglican Communion in continuing and deepening a faithful path forward.

Bishop Steenson (Rio Grande) Resigns
Source:    The Living Church
Date:     September 25, 2007
 
The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey N. Steenson told the House of Bishops Tuesday that the bishops' last meeting, at Camp Allen in Texas in March, was "a profoundly disturbing experience for me."

Bishop Steenson asked to address the bishops in order that he could request their permission to resign as Bishop of the Rio Grande before the end of the year. He plans to join the Roman Catholic Church.

"I was more than a little surprised when such a substantial majority declared the polity of The Episcopal Church to be primarily that of an autonomous and independent local church relating to the wider Anglican Communion by voluntary association," Bishop Steenson said of that March meeting. "This is not the Anglicanism in which I was formed, inspired by the Oxford movement and the Catholic Revival in the Church of England. Perhaps something was defective in my education for ministry in The Episcopal Church. But, honestly, I did not recognize the church that this House described on that occasion."